Vegetarianism is an integral part of most schools of Hinduism although there are a wide variety of practices and beliefs that have changed over time. An estimated 20 to 30% of all Hindus are vegetarians. Most sects of Hindus do not observe vegetarianism. Dietary habits and dietary customs were factors that have played roles in the formation, evolution and development of Indian caste system.
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Mahabharata there is a mention of a king named Rantideva who achieved great fame by distributing foodgrains and beef to Brahmins. Taittiriya Brahman categorically tells us: `Verily the cow is food' (atho annam via gauh) and Yajnavalkya's insistence on eating the tender (amsala) flesh of the cow is well known. Even later Brahminical texts provide the evidence for eating beef. Even Manusmriti did not prohibit the consumption of beef.
Aryans of the Rig Veda did kill cows for purposes of food and ate beef is abundantly clear from the Rig Veda itself. In Rig Veda (X. 86.14) Indra says: ‘They cook for one 15 plus twenty oxen". The Rig Veda (X.91.14) says that for Agni were sacrificed horses, bulls, oxen, barren cows and rams. From the Rig Veda (X.72.6) it appears that the cow was killed with a sword or axe.
Vedas
The earliest Hindu scriptures belong or refer to the Vedic period which lasted till about 500 BCE according to the chronological division by modern historians. In the historical Vedic religion of Hinduism, following references exist for meat consumption.
The Rig Veda (10.87.16-19) speaks about the flesh of the cattle and the horses: In therapeutic section of Charak Samhita (pages 86-87) the flesh of cow is prescribed as a medicine for various diseases. It is also prescribed for making soup. It is emphatically advised as a cure for irregular fever, consumption, and emaciation. The fat of the cow is recommended for debility and rheumatism.
Most consider this as a disapproval of the cow slaughter and meat eating in general. Others put it in the context of demons and evil spirits (Yātudhāna) stealing the cattle and the milk. Though alternative translations by Swami Dayananda Saraswati reject such claims and give the 'correct' interpretations and translations in the light of the Brahmanas and Vedangas. According to Dayananda and Yaska, the author of Nirukta (Vedic Philology), Yātudhāna means Cattle -eaters (Yātu - Cattle / flesh of Cattle + Udhāna - eaters/ consumers).
The Atharva Veda bans only the eating of the raw flesh and the human flesh:
The Yajurveda mentions Ashvamedha or the horse sacrifice, and even Purushamedha or the Human sacrifice(Yajurveda (VS 30–31)). The Purushamedha or Human sacrifice was purely ritualistic, and there is no proof of a human ever being sacrificed.
Later texts
Several highly authoritative scriptures also bar violence against domestic animals except in the case of ritual sacrifice. This view is clearly expressed in the Mahabharata (3.199.11-12; 13.115; 13.116.26; 13.148.17), the Bhagavata Purana (11.5.13-14), and the Chandogya Upanishad (8.15.1). For instance, many Hindus point to the Mahabharata's maxim that "Nonviolence is the highest duty and the highest teaching," as advocating a vegetarian diet. It is also reflected in the Manu Smriti (5.27-44), a particularly renowned traditional Hindu law book (Dharmaśāstra). These texts strongly condemn the slaughter of animals and meat eating.
Sutras
Baudhayana says (Baudhayana Dharmasutra), carnivorous animals, tamed birds, pigs, cocks should not be eaten. Five toed animals, animals with cloven hoofs, birds that feed scratching with their feet, etc. may be eaten. Apastamba (Apastamba Dharmasutra) gives another list of animals not to be eaten. He also mentioned that during Shraddha meat should be offered to the ancestors.
Early Brahmins of South India
Some of the south Indian Brahmins during the sutra period, like those of North India were meat eaters. Kapilar(Puṟanāṉūṟu, poems 113,119), a poet in ancient Tamil Country, says:
Buddhism and Jainism
Starting from the last few centuries B.C., Buddhism and Jainism contributed much to the belief that nonviolence is supremely valued which stimulated growing hostility to the slaughter of live animals.